Accomplishing the task of installing a bracket for a curtain assembly such that the bracket is positioned so as to hold the curtain assembly precisely within an opening is fraught with difficulties. As any person who has attempted this task can tell you, multiple alignment issues present themselves. As used herein, the term “curtain assembly” is used broadly to describe an opening (such as a window for example only and not by limitation) cover system including a shade or curtain movably contained within a holding unit. The shade is wound and unwound on a shade roll within the unit, all as is known in the art. The curtain assembly itself includes a bracket that is typically a separate unit. The bracket is the critical element in the proper installation of a curtain assembly. Inaccurate location of the bracket results in the inaccurate location of the curtain assembly and misplacement of the shade within the opening.
With regard to the deployment of the curtain within the opening, it is a common problem of adjusting the location of the bracket such that the curtain is located a desired distance away from the glass in the opening, for example only. Thus it can be seen that side to side location is important but so also is front to back location.
Currently, there is no easy to use repeatable way to precisely locate a window covering curtain assembly. Unless you are a professional installer, this is a daunting task and the results are often disappointing and costly. Disappointing because the assembly may look right with the curtain up but any slight misalignment is revealed with the shade down. Costly because multiple attempts to locate and correct the location of the assembly causes damage to the opening often requiring professional help to repair.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a device and method for locating a curtain assembly in an opening that is easy to use, inexpensive compared to the cost of repairs and which does not add much to the overall cost of a curtain assembly, that is repeatable and which allows a user to adjust the location of a deployed curtain in multiple directions.
It, therefore, is an object of this invention to provide a guide apparatus and method that ensures accurate, repeatable, and reliable location of a curtain assembly within an opening both side to side and front to back. It is a further object of the invention that the system is easy to use, essentially “fool proof”, and that does not add any significant cost to the basic cost of the curtain assembly.